Choices
by foxfire79
Summary: InuYasha ponders what his world would have been like without Kagome then gets a chance to see this changed world with his own eyes! Includes trips to the future, battling and KagInu pairing! Please remember to review! Thanks : And enjoy!


Choices – by Foxfire79

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, or any of the other characters – Rumiko Takahashi does. Nor do I own Frank Capra's 'It's a Wonderful Life'. Though it would be nice if I did because then I'd be rich. Other things that I don't own:

A foot spa

Popcorn machine

Green Day

A giant shape shifting Citroen that dances to 'Les Rhythm Digitales'

Anyone wanna help a person out? I thought as much! Bah!

**Part 1 – Ruminations and Rescues**

It had been two days since the troupe had defeated Tsubaki the dark priestess. Two days since they had seen the sacred jewel shard sullied by her evil. Two days since Kagome had been implanted with the poisoned shards in her throat, then consequently rescued by InuYasha and co. And infinitely longer than that since they'd had a break of any kind. The weary group headed back towards Kaede's village, Kagome riding on InuYasha's back, Sango and Shippo riding on Kilala's back, and Miroku following on foot. The only sounds that accompanied them were the jangling of Miroku's staff and light sounds of breathing.

"So…tired…" Kagome mumbled, her face slightly squashed into InuYasha's back. Her small voice reverberated through his chest. InuYasha smiled to himself, but answered her gruffly.

"Just hold on, we're nearly back at the village – you can rest there." He shifted her weight on his back slightly. He was starting to get tired himself. But wait! InuYasha inwardly groaned – how could he have forgotten! It was still light enough to get to the village, but for the rest of tonight he would be useless. He hadn't realized it was his time of weakness. The new moon. Damnit.

"Ok everybody, hurry up! It's getting dark, and Kagome's tired!" The village lights were in sight, when Kagome's weight shifted ever so slightly again. Before InuYasha could stop her, she slid off his back and landed hard on the ground. Shippo leapt from Kilala's back with a yelp, followed closely by Sango and Miroku. In unison they all shouted her name.

"Kagome!"

InuYasha knelt down and cradled the girl's head in his lap. The scene was oddly reminiscent of the time when Kagome watched over him after being attacked by the spider head demons. He shook his head to clear that image from his mind and set to the task at hand. Her forehead was cool, so she didn't have a fever. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't rambling. InuYasha scratched his head.

"Kagome? Can you hear me?" She mumbled something, then turned on her side, snuggling into his lap. InuYasha blushed slightly, then shook her shoulder to try and wake her up.

"Kagome, wake up – we're nearly home." He poked her in the shoulder again. Her brow furrowed, and she half-sat up.

"Inu…Yasha?" Kagome half opened her eyes, then registered that she was sitting on the ground – and that her rear end was extremely sore. Her eyes were suddenly ablaze.

"You…dropped me?" The half demon boy started to panic. His amber eyes opened wide as he tried to explain himself.

"No, wait, Kagome! It wasn't like that! You slipped! I…"

"Sit boy!" InuYasha's answer was interrupted when his face hit the turf. He valiantly tried to continue his explanation.

"…tried to stop you…" Her eyes narrowed. This was not going well.

"Sit!" He yelped as his entire body slammed into the ground again. Everything hurt. He finished his excuse.

"It's the new moon…I'm sorry…" InuYasha raised his now dark-instead-of-silver haired head and surveyed his friends. Miroku and Sango were looking on with sympathetic faces. Shippo leapt to his shoulder and wiped something from below his nose.

"You're bleeding InuYasha! Sheesh, that second sit command got you a good one!"

InuYasha regained his composure. His now-dark eyes narrowed as he plucked the small fox demon from his shoulder and threw him towards the others. He couldn't bring himself to look at Kagome.

"I'm sleeping outside tonight. Nobody come looking for me." He started off down towards the river, when a small voice stopped him.

"InuYasha." It was Kagome. InuYasha stopped but did not turn around.

"What?" He sounded sulkier then he'd meant to, but it was too late now. He heard her take a deep shuddering breath.

"I'm sorry. I forgot." His shoulders relaxed, but he still didn't turn.

"'S ok" InuYasha replied, "See you guys in the morning." He wandered off into the gathering dark.

Inside Kaede's hut, Kagome had cried herself back to sleep. Kaede covered her with a blanket, then turned to Miroku and Sango.

"What did InuYasha do this time?" The old woman had jumped to the usual conclusion. Sango stepped forward to answer.

"It's not what you think this time, Lady Kaede. There was a… a misunderstanding between them." Kaede started to busy herself with the tea, and Miroku sat cross-legged on the floor. Shippo had curled up with Kagome and gone to sleep. Sango continued.

"Kagome was very tired, she'd only just had the poisoned jewel shards removed from her throat. I think she must have fallen asleep on InuYasha's back. Then she just fell off – landed pretty hard too." Kaede poured the three cups of tea, then with a grunt sat on the floor with the two younger people.

"I see…so he dropped her." Sango shook her head.

"No, I could tell, he was holding onto her as tightly as normal. But he was tiring…it's the new moon." Kaede sipped her tea and closed her eyes.

"Let me guess what happened next – Kagome woke up angry and 'sat' him. Am I correct?" Miroku nodded, and took up the story as Sango was alternately drinking and yawning.

"Yes, Lady Kaede. Twice in fact – once in his half demon form and once…after." Kaede sipped her tea then sighed.

"And none of you realized that it was the time of InuYasha's weakness until it was too late?" Miroku nodded, then slumped slightly as he continued. Sango had given in to sleep and crawled over to where Kagome and Shippo were curled.

"The second sit command really seemed to hurt him – his nose was bleeding after he hit the ground. And I think his dignity was wounded also – just prior to the 'sits' he had been trying to explain himself to Kagome. When he brought his head up that second time we all knew what the problem had been, but it was too late." Kaede sighed, then grunted as she stood up.

"Poor Kagome. If she had known…it's no wonder she was so upset when she came inside. She's been through a lot these past few days, then to hurt her own guardian in his weakness – it's all too much for a young girl like her to deal with. Sometimes I wish…" Kaede started to mumble as she made her way to the basin to ready herself for bed. Miroku stood to leave.

"Where do you think you're going, young monk – you need your rest too." Miroku yawned, but made his way toward the door.

"Someone needs to watch over InuYasha in his time of weakness. The girls and Shippo are exhausted, so I'm the only one available." Kaede sighed and turned him back around, towards the extra blankets in the corner opposite the girls, giving him a gentle shove.

"As I said before, you need your rest too, monk. Kilala!" The old priestess called the twin-tailed cat over. Kilala looked fresh and ready for action. She'd been napping during all the talking, after having a large meal. She mewed a response to Kaede, letting her know she was there. The old woman scratched Kilala behind the ears, like a regular cat. Kilala arched her back, enjoying the contact.

"Kilala my dear, it is up to you to keep an eye on InuYasha tonight. Keep him safe, but stay out of sight. I fear…I fear that he will be rather fragile tonight. Can you do that?" Kilala rubbed against the old priestess's leg, then jumped out the door in search of the completely human InuYasha.

"Please InuYasha," Kaede said softly to herself, "Don't do anything foolhardy tonight."

InuYasha stood in the middle of the town bridge, his black hair blowing in the slight breeze. His nose was throbbing, but at least the bleeding had stopped. He reached up to touch it, and winced at the pain. A small spark of anger ran through him as he remembered just how angry Kagome had sounded when she'd said that second 'sit' command. It wasn't fair!

"It's not fair…" He whispered to himself, standing alone on the bridge. But it didn't just make him angry…it made him sad. During the entire battle with Tsubaki, all he'd been worried about was Kagome's welfare, and the others in the group. _But mostly Kagome…_His mind whispered to him. He clutched his head and sat down on the bridge slowly. He wasn't supposed to feel like this…it wasn't fair.

Kilala stayed in her small form to stalk InuYasha. Even in his weakened state he'd be able to sense a gigantic flaming cat creeping around in the underbrush. She crept quietly through the undergrowth until she spotted her half canine friend sitting on the bridge above the river, his dark hair blowing in the wind. He had his hands over his face, but she couldn't smell any tears on him – just mass amounts of confusion. Kilala mewed sadly, then curled up on the ground, her tails daintily lying over her front paws. She'd make sure he was alright.

InuYasha uncovered his eyes, then lay down on the bridge to look up at the stars. They looked so lovely – in fact they moved him, and suddenly he was thinking about how lovely Kagome looked in the moonlight…

"What the hell… what's wrong with me!" He studied his hands in the moonlight, then remembered.

"Oh yeah, I'm in my 'weakened' state. That means I'm going to be emotional and unreasonable until morning. I hate this!" Once more with tonight's catch-cry…

"It's not fair!" He lay back down and looked back up to the stars…

"They are really pretty though…" He dozed into a fitful slumber, filled with dreams of all the adventures he'd had so far with Kagome. Right from the beginning, with Lady Centipede and the Carrion Crow demon, up to the past few days with Tsubaki and the tainted shikon jewel. One thing remained static in every story which ran through his head – Kagome had always fought with the best of them, but ended up in mortal danger. Every single time, InuYasha had to rescue her, then finish the battle himself with the help of Miroku and Sango's support.

Every battle ended with him making sure that Kagome was still alive and safe.

InuYasha eventually gave up on trying to sleep and sat up once more, his mind so full of emotions he felt like he wanted to explode. If there was just some way that he could be sure that Kagome would never be in harm's way again, someway of keeping her happy and safe and alive…

"I wonder…" He said softly, looking up towards the stars once more…

Kilala's nose twitched, and she sneezed herself awake. She swatted herself in the head for being so silly, and falling asleep in the middle of duty. Kaede would not be pleased and would certainly not give her any treats at breakfast. Then her nose twitched again, picking up a change in InuYasha's scent. She looked toward the bridge and saw him standing up, peering at the sky as if looking for something. There was electricity in the air as they both peered silently upwards, one on a mission and one merely confused. Then it happened.

A bright light shot across the sky. Kilala mewed. She'd seen shooting stars before, but she didn't know why InuYasha was so excited. He clutched the handrail on the bridge and closed his eyes, his mouth moving silently and fervently with his wish. His brow furrowed with the effort of his words, then he sank to his knees as he finished.

'_I wish that Kagome had never come back to this time. I wish that she'd stayed in her own time and remained happy and safe and alive…and loved…'_

As InuYasha sank to the ground, he chuckled lightly to himself.

"It's a pity wishes like that don't ever actually some true though… Kagome's just lucky she's got me around to protect her. Hell, I'll even let her off easy this time, seeing as she was tired an' all." Seemingly satisfied with this outpouring of emotions he settled back down on the ground. He heard a quiet mew by his feet and looked down.

"Oh, hey Kilala. Did they send you out to keep watch over me?" Kilala nodded, and bumped her head into his knee, asking for forgiveness. InuYasha scratched her behind the ears.

"Yeah, it's ok – just don't tell anyone I patted you, alright?" Kilala mewed and turned around on the wooden bridge, making herself a little nest to sleep in. With her tails curled over her nose she fell into a deep sleep beside her friend InuYasha.

"Huh, looks like it wasn't just the humans that were tired…" InuYasha thought as he lay down near the little ball of fluff and fell asleep himself.

InuYasha awoke, seemingly a few moments later, to a loud splashing in the river. Kilala twitched and awoke also, shaking her small body and emerging as her full demon self, feet blazing with flames. A small voice floated up to them through the darkness.

"Help me! Somebody please! I can't swim!" It sounded like a small child. InuYasha jumped over the handrail and dived into the rapidly flowing current. He could see a small shape quite a distance ahead of him, and tried to swim over. His heavy clothes started to weigh him down. Damn!

"Kilala! Get us out of here!" He managed to grab the back of the kid's kimono and held onto her tightly, lifting her up out of the water as he started to sink. Just as his head was about to go under he felt the enormous cat's jaws close gently around the back of his neck, dragging the bedraggled boy and his human cargo to the edge of the river. Both of them coughing and heaving, they sat on the bank and glared at each other.

"What'd ya have to go and do that for?" InuYasha grunted at the kid. The little girl squeezed some of the water out of her hair and started wringing out the edge of her kimono.

"Do what for?" She answered just as testily. InuYasha glared at her again then looked away.

"What did you think you were doing, jumping in a river if you know you can't swim?" The little girl sat in thought for a moment, then beamed at him.

"Oh, that! I fell… I think… I can't remember much before right now…" She broke off to sneeze explosively. The girl was small, probably about the same age as Shippo, and skinny as anything. And soaking wet. InuYasha sighed, deeply put out by the entire situation. He went back up to the edge of the forest and grabbed some broken branches and twigs. Taking out the 'lighter' that Kagome had given him for just such emergencies, he started up a camp fire. The girl looked at the tiny flame in his hand, entranced.

"Are you a demon? That you can make fire appear from your very hands!" InuYasha blushed slightly and showed the girl the little contraption.

"It was a gift from a friend." The small girl smiled slyly at him.

"From a girl, I'll wager, from that blush that's appearing on your face!" InuYasha grabbed the lighter back and shoved it back within his garments.

"So what if it is? People give other people gifts you know!" The girl stopped grinning and sat still again.

"Forgive me. I spoke out of turn. By the way, what name does my savior go by?" InuYasha looked pleased with himself – a savior, eh?

"I'm InuYasha, and the cat's name is Kilala. What's your name? And how come you're out here all by yourself, you're only a little kid?" The girl smiled quietly to herself.

"I'm not that young. My name's Kareru. And I'm not really alone, my family is everywhere…" InuYasha was slightly confused by this answer.

"You have family everywhere, huh? So you're traveling to stay with relatives or something, right?" Kareru nodded, smiling softly.

"I have a job to do before I get to see my family though…" Kareru closed her eyes and smiled softly. InuYasha backed away slightly.

"You're not an assassin, are you?" Kareru opened her eyes in surprise.

"An assassin? Why ever would you think that? Do I look like a paid killer? I'm nine summers old!" Kareru laughed loudly, grinning at InuYasha. He was relieved; even though he was in his weakened state he knew a nine year old girl wouldn't have been able to kill him. Still, she was being very mysterious. He decided to try the gruff approach again.

"So what is your job then? Hopefully not just bugging people and begging for rescue!" Kareru sighed, and looked him straight in the eye. Her green eyes looked up at him so earnestly. InuYasha didn't know what to say.

"Sorry… so what is your job then?" Kareru sighed and looked away.

"You wouldn't believe me anyway…" InuYasha put a hand on her shoulder, gently.

"Try me." The girl took a deep breath, then let it out.

"I grant wishes. We, the other wish granters and myself, heard your most heartfelt wish. They told me to grant it, then they said I could… What?" InuYasha had crossed his arms and had a most annoyed look on his face.

"My most heartfelt wish…? Who the hell said you could spy on me! And here I was starting to like you…" He stood up and moved away, not looking back. Kareru sighed and silently walked up beside him, taking his hand.

"I can prove it… Look down in the water." InuYasha looked down at his reflection. It was different. He had his eyes closed and he could see his lips moving. He pulled back from the water, shaking.

"That was me… when I made my wish… but how?" Kareru sighed.

"I told you – we grant wishes. Or rather, we let people see what would happen if they made that wish, then grant it if they decide… if it's the right thing to do." InuYasha mulled this over. An interesting idea, that's for sure.

"So, you'd let me see if this wish turned out well…" Kareru smirked.

"You believe me now, huh?" InuYasha blushed, his hair seeming even darker against his flaming cheeks.

"It's just an interesting thought… and I meant what I said in the wish. The only thing I want is…"

"You wish… _that Kagome had never come back to this time. _You wish…_ that she'd stayed in her own time and remained happy and safe and alive…and loved…'" _InuYasha was taken aback by the perfect replication of his voice. He took Kareru's other hand in his and knelt down to her eye level.

"Show me…" Kareru nodded. She whistled in the direction of Kilala's sleeping form, and the tiny cat woke up. She slinked over to where Kareru and InuYasha were standing, and grew to her full size.

"Please put me on her back, InuYasha. You'll need to get on too – we only have this night to view the wish, and neither of us can move fast enough to get around to see everything. Hurry!" InuYasha picked up the small girl and placed her on Kilala's back. He clambered up behind her, holding her around the waist.

"Where are we going?" InuYasha asked the small figure in front of him. Kareru didn't turn, but ordered Kilala to move.

"Kilala! To the bone-eaters well, quickly!" The gigantic cat took off with a lurch, running through the forest towards the old well Kagome used to traverse through both times. The branches and twigs pulled at the two riders harshly as they hurried towards the gateway. They arrived there much more quickly than if they'd walked, that's for sure.

InuYasha disembarked, and picked Kareru up under her armpits to place her back on her feet. He moved to the side of the well, readying himself to jump in.

"Wait InuYasha!" Kareru called. He stopped and knelt down to her level. She kissed him lightly on the forehead, and for a moment time seemed to stop. There was a wild rushing in his ears and colored spots appeared before his eyes. He clutched her shoulders, trying to remain upright. It all suddenly stopped, and the serene night air returned to normal. InuYasha reopened his eyes, and looked at Kareru questioningly. She smiled and tapped his shoulder.

"Off you go then. Kilala and I can't follow you into Kagome's time, but we'll be waiting right here for your return. Now go!" InuYasha felt invigorated. He'd get to see her living happily in her own time, with no worries of the past to taint her smile, and no dangers lurking around every corner. It was going to be… great!

"There'll be no need to take this wish away, Kareru! You might as well go now!" InuYasha took a run up to the well and leapt in "Kagome, here I come!" Kareru looked at Kilala and sighed. Kilala rubbed herself against the strange girl's leg. Her scent was like nothing she'd ever smelled before… It was sweet and so… heavenly. Kareru looked down the well.

"Good luck InuYasha. I think I'll still wait here for you though… sometimes wishes have long-reaching consequences…"

InuYasha's triumphant yell resounded through the forest for another couple of seconds, then the silence returned. It was going to be a long night.

To Be Continued…

What did you think? Please send reviews through – I need the creative criticism! Plus I only have another week on holidays, so as quickly as you can please!

Thanks for reading!

Foxfire79


End file.
